(Newser)
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The Food and Drug Administration is ordering a ban on sales of four cigarette brands from RJ Reynolds because they do not meet the agency's safety review requirements. Under FDA rules, companies that launch new cigarettes must show that the products are essentially the same as older products in terms of health risks. The FDA said four brands from RJ Reynolds failed to show that they don't raise new safety concerns: Camel Crush Bold, Pall Mall Deep Set, Pall Mall Deep Set Menthol, and Vantage Tech 13.

In 2009 the FDA gained authority to regulate some aspects of cigarettes and other tobacco products. The agency can evaluate new tobacco products for their health risks and ban those that raise new or uncertain issues. The FDA action means it is illegal for retailers to sell or distribute the four cigarette brands. However, the agency said it will not take action for 30 days to give retailers time to dispose of the products. (Read more RJ Reynolds stories.)

Here the FDA goes again, trying to control which specific types of cigarettes people are allowed to kill themselves with. Why not just force the companies to put an ingredients list on the cigarette containers? Then let the consumers decide which poisons they like and dislike? That's what they do with food. They didn't care for decades that food manufacturers put hydrogenated oils in everything and that's terrible for health. They still let them put mineral oil in food like children's fruit snacks and that stuff is basically a byproduct of petrol refining. Surely safe!!!

HybridX

Sep 16, 2015 6:00 AM CDT

I don't think cigarettes and " safety review requirements" really can be said in the same breath..."cough"

GreekChorus

Sep 16, 2015 1:51 AM CDT

Bad law/regulation. The burden of proof should be on the FDA (although they may use third party evidence to do so) to show that there is a lower level of "safety", rather than on the manufacturers.